Slipping, Falling
by fawnjams
Summary: Beck and Jade begin their second date, and soon realize what kind of relationship they'd gotten themselves into. Oneshot.


"So..." Beck began, attempting to casually break the silence that had been floating between them for the past handful of minutes. It was too soon for him to be sure whether or not this silence was natural or a sign of her agitation with him-all he could do was try to engage her in conversation and see what happens.

Their second date had definitely been much less expensive than their first. Beck had sorely misjudged what Jade expected on a first date; he took her out to a restaurant, treated her to a fancy dinner full of meals with French-sounding names that were impossible to pronounce without embarrassing himself. When a waiter with an almost unintelligible accent greeted them at their table, Jade had immediately stabbed her fork into the tablecloth-a clear sign that she was not enjoying herself. And, although she had dressed nicely for the occasion, she was obviously unimpressed with his effort (and the large amount of money he'd spent on her that evening), saying that the night had been a complete cliché and a total waste of her time.

The words probably should have offended him or scared him off, as they were most likely meant to, but Jade had no such luck. Beck was simply even more determined to impress her with a date that was more 'up her alley,' and definitely more in his spending range.

Beck had decided that they were going to see a movie. Movies were always a good icebreaker, he'd learned. Because, even if he and his date had absolutely nothing in common, they would at least have the movie to talk about for the second-half of their date. He definitely wasn't going to take her to see a romantic comedy or anything like that, though... no, he went out of his way to find the lowest-budget, lowest-rated horror movie playing. And so, one morning during a casual stroll through the hall, he slipped a ticket into her locker and was on his way.

And then, that Saturday night, there she was. Of course, he'd had no doubt in his mind that she'd show up. Even if she was completely disinterested in him, she wouldn't pass up an opportunity to yell and embarrass him in wore a dark cotton t-shirt, faded jeans, and a thick hoodie. Ha. They'd already been on the same page. If their last date was uptight and fancy, their next one would be as cool and casual as possible. Their shirts were even the same color-imagine that. When he'd pointed it out, though, she'd simply scoffed and rolled her eyes, shoving her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. The gesture seemed like more of an act than genuine distaste, though. Simply... habit.

The movie, as expected, was horrible. Beck couldn't even get a firm grasp on the plot. It had something to do with zombies, definitely. And blood. And explosions. Every time he found himself cringing at a particularly cheesy line or cheap death, he took the opportunity to spare a quick glance towards his companion. She seemed to be enjoying herself, at least. Her face was expressionless throughout most of the film, but her lips twitched with a small smile every once and a while. With a smug grin, Beck decided that he had made the right choice.

Jade looked at him, too. With her dark hair shading her eyes, it was easy to cast her gaze in his direction without him noticing. He didn't seem to be interested in the movie. In his defense, neither was she, but it was still fun to watch. Although she preferred movies with actual plot (like any sensible human being), dumb gory stuff was still nice. It was absolutely mindless, giving her lots of opportunity to contemplate why she was on this date. As she watched blood and zombie guts fly at the screen, she couldn't really justify why she was there, sitting in that dark, empty theater with that tall, sickeningly charming boy... but she couldn't come up with a reason not to be there, either.

Interesting. She would simply have to wait and see how the night would go.

As they exited the theater, Beck's words floated in the air, mingling with the surprisingly cold, bitter wind biting at their cheeks while they walked. Was he nervous? Good. Smug and satisfied with herself, she took a moment to respond. They weren't in any particular hurry, were they? Besides. It was fun to make him wait.

"So?" she finally questioned, her voice sharp. With surprise, she noted that this was the first time she'd said anything since they'd entered the theater and began their date. Why had she been so quiet? Of course, her date hadn't been talking much either, but... she usually had so much to say. Why had nothing been coming to mind? Why did her mind always seem to go blank, the flames on the tip of her tongue momentarily stifled, whenever she was around him?

Whatever. It was his fault. He obviously put a lot of effort into making himself look so pretty and charming and whatever. He knew exactly what effect he had on people, and he was proud of it. Gross.

"How'd you like the movie?" he replied, looking over at her. As they passed under a streetlamp, a bright yellow light fell upon her, flickering across her hair and sending stars straight into his eyes. God, she was beautiful.

God. Beck was doomed.

"It sucked," she snapped back. As she spoke, though, her gaze remained pointedly fixed on the sidewalk, refusing to meet his eyes. "No. 'Suck' is too kind a word for that monstrosity. It was... the absolute worst thing I've ever seen in my entire life." ... Ick. That wasn't clever at all. What was wrong with her?!

He couldn't help but grin. She wasn't making this easy... and he liked it. "But," he quickly shot back, his obvious amusement showing in the light, playful tone of his voice. "Did you like it?"

Jade huffed, unable to stop the smile that appeared on her face. Damn him. Immediately making it disappear, she responded, her voice a bit softer, "I didn't hate it." What was wrong with her tonight? He deserved a full barrage of comebacks for laughing at her, but she couldn't manage to find a single cannon.

 _His fault. His fault his fault his fault his fault his fault._

Beck laughed again, but she didn't even bother feigning anger in response. She knew what was happening... and as much as she hated it, she didn't dare fight it. Falling always ended in landing anyway, didn't it? At most, he would just be a little fling. Nothing to worry about... yet.

But, without even realizing it, they were at his trailer. Sitting on his... bed? His hand in her hair... what was he doing? Her hand on his cheek... what was she doing?! She couldn't muster up the energy to care. Lips against lips. Warm and smooth and fast and easy. Perfection.

Fast forward three years later. Same bed. Same hands same eyes same fingers same lips. Same kisses, same touches... same warmth. She still had no idea what she was doing, but neither did he. And they didn't care. She was happy. He was happy. Perfection.

Of course, falling does always end in landing. But... only if you stop falling.


End file.
